Thanks to A Cat
by siriusly-random
Summary: "I dunno if you're a cat person or not, but," he slowly and gently moved his arms out towards her, "just look at him and tell me you wouldn't want to save the poor little guy off the street where it's cold and wet." Nalu AU
_Okay, I don't want to be that jerk but our building has a strict No Pet Policy and your cat will not stop meowing and and I WILL report you and oh no you're cute_ \- AU

 _Italics=thoughts_

* * *

Lucy felt her eye twitch as she sat in her room, trying to write the current chapter of her novel. But she wasn't getting anywhere with the constant meowing she was hearing from the apartment next to hers. _It's okay Lucy, you can do this._

But she couldn't.

This was the third day in a row, and quite frankly she had had enough. She couldn't get any work done because of the stupid cat, and she was on her last straw.

She didn't want to be the bad guy who ratted her neighbour out to the landlord, she really didn't.

But she would do what was necessary for her sanity.

Pushing herself up from her desk chair, she left her room, grabbing her keys and heading for the door.

She knocked on the door a few times, briefly wondering who lived next to her. She had only recently moved into the apartment, so she hadn't met a lot of the residents yet.

"Who is it?" she heard a mans voice call from the inside.

"Lucy, your neighbour. I need to talk to you."

She heard some shuffling around inside before the door opened the tiniest bit. "Whadda need, Luigi?"

Narrowing her eyes in agitation at the name, she crossed her arms and let a scowl appear on her face.

"Look, I have restrained myself for the past few days because I was being a good person but if I hear your stupid cat one more-"

She was cut off as the man dragged her into his apartment, startling her.

"What the _hell?"_ furious, Lucy put her hands on her hips ready to give him a piece of her mind until she saw him clearly for the first time.

Oh.

He was, well, _hot._

He was barefoot, sporting pyjama pants with little red dragons on them, with a black muscle shirt that honestly made Lucy take in a sharp breath because _wow_. And to top it off he had pink hair, and while at first it seemed strange to her, she couldn't help but notice it suited him, and in the best way possible.

He had green eyes and a strong jaw and _oh-_

He was talking.

What was she doing here again?

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry what were you saying?" she cleared her throat, trying not to look too embarrassed.

The look he gave her made her face turn red, because it clearly said _are you fucking serious right now?_

"I'm sorry for dragging you in here but I couldn't risk someone overhearing you talk about Happy." He almost looked like he was pouting, like a puppy who didn't get a treat after doing a trick.

"Happy?" she asked dumbly, because she was still pretty confused. _Damn it hormones. What did I come over here for again?_

"Happy. My cat." He was squinting at her now as if he didn't understand her, and she didn't blame him. "You're weird Luigi."

Oh, right. "For one, cat-man, my name is _Lucy_ , not Luigi, and two, if you don't get that damn cat of yours to _shut the hell up_ I _will_ go to the landlady and let her know you're breaking the rules."

However, she felt her resolve start to crumble at the look he gave her. "No, no you can't!" he pleaded, desperation growing in his eyes.

"And why exactly shouldn't I?" _Hold your ground Lucy, just because he is insanely attractive and adorable doesn't mean you should give up._

"Just give me one sec!" rushing off to his room, Lucy awkwardly stood in his entryway, looking around his apartment.

The first thing she noticed was how dirty it was. Dishes were overflowing in his sink and clothes were thrown all over the floor. It was utter chaos.

Her eyes were drawn back to the still unnamed man as he came back from his room, cradling something in his hands. "I dunno if you're a cat person or not, but," he slowly and gently moved his arms out towards her, "just look at him and tell me you wouldn't want to save the poor little guy off the street where it's cold and wet."

Oh, he was good.

Because the moment he shoved the blue little fur ball into her arms she fell in love. He was too adorable, from his unusual blue fur to his mischievous little eyes; Lucy Heartfilia knew she was screwed.

And when she looked up to the cat's owner, she knew she'd be even worse off if she didn't do something soon.

"Okay, well I admit he's adorable." She started off, trying to find the right words. Because what the hell was she suppose to say _now?_ "But is there anyway to well, get him to shut up?" _Smooth Lucy, very smooth._

"Uhh," cat-man scratched the back of his head and looked up, as if in thought. "Dunno really. I never had a cat before."

Lucy sighed and, reluctantly, handed the cat back to his owner. His very attractive owner.

She needed to get out of there.

"Are you feeding him enough? Does he get enough water? Do you clean his litter regularly?" she questioned, going into lecture mode. "If you don't take care of him properly he won't be any better off her than the streets, and from the sight of your apartment I don't know if you do the last one very often.

Cat-man looked offended at this, clutching Happy protectively to his chest. "Hey, that's rude Luigi. I feed him plenty of food and water, and I clean his litter regularly. I can show you if you want." She trusted the look on his face enough to politely decline his offer.

Lucy bit her lip in concentration, trying to figure out what the problem would be. Happy didn't look like he was sick, and he said he had all his shots so that couldn't be it.

What she didn't notice was how cat-man stared at her as she bit her lip and had to focus really hard on the matter at hand.

"Well, whatever it is you need to figure it out because I need to be able to concentrate on my writing, okay? I'm just next door so I _will_ be back if it starts again." Lucy turned, getting ready to leave.

"Hey, Lucy?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah?" she didn't turn back around, because looking at his face wouldn't do her any good.

"Happy hasn't meowed once since you came in. Maybe he just needs you in his life."

Oh, he was _really_ good.

* * *

The next day was pretty quiet, and Lucy took this as a sign that the cat learned to keep his meows to himself. She sighed contentedly as she sat at her desk, ideas flowing from her mind to her pen, actually getting some work done.

She was about an hour into her writing when she heard it.

"Meoooww!"

 _Maybe it's just a one time thing, he'll probably stop._

But unfortunately he didn't, so fifteen minutes later Lucy found herself at cat-mans door (she really needed to find out his name), waiting for him to answer her knock.

Cat-man opened the door with a sheepish smile, knowing exactly why she was here. "Okay, look Lucy, I know why you're here but I've been trying everything and I just can't get him to stop, can you come in?" he pleaded with her, throwing her his best puppy dog eyes and a small pout.

 _Damn him and that adorable face._

"Fine, but I'm warning you if we can't figure it out I'm taking this situation to Erza." Cat-man gulped, knowing how terrifying their landlady was.

"Aye!"

Stepping into his apartment, she noticed it was still incredibly dirty and she had to restrain herself from saying something. "Where is he?"

He jerked his thumb behind him. "My room, I'll go get him."

Wandering over to his living area, Lucy sat down on his sofa, crossing her legs and resting her cheek on her hand. "This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself, wondering why she just didn't go right to Erza.

Her reason came out just a second later, and she felt her heart melt. Cat-man was holding Happy in his arms, trying to keep him calm as the cat was trying to jump down, not wanting to be restrained, while cat-man just laughed and smiled at the animal.

As soon as they were close enough, cat-man released Happy, who immediately jumped up on Lucy's lap and curled up into a ball, purring.

"He really likes you for some strange reason." Lucy glanced up to see him looking at the pair with concentration, as if trying to figure something out, and he probably was.

"I'm Natsu, by the way. You never asked me. You're weird."

Lucy felt her eye twitch. He was calling _her_ weird?

"Thanks." She smiled up at him, glad to be able to stop refereeing to him as cat-man.

He came over and sat beside her, reaching out to pet the blue feline. "See? He's not meowing anymore. He just missed you."

Glancing up at Natsu, seeing him staring at Happy, she turned her head back to the cat. Even if that was the case it didn't really solve anything.

"Okay, but what are we suppose to do now? I can't always be with him." She scratched him behind the ears, and Happy leaned in to her hand.

"We could have play dates." Lucy laughed at the thought. _Play dates? With a cat?_ "What? Don't you like him?" Natsu asked, offended.

"Well yeah, but I can't come over here everyday, I have my job and writing and my social life."

"But don't you want him to stop meowing? If you came to visit, he would probably stop, knowing he could look forward to seeing you."

He brought up a good point, but Lucy couldn't sacrifice that much time to come visit everyday, no matter how much she wanted to. Because Happy really was adorable, and he helped her not miss her dog Plue as much, who was living with her father.

Not to mention Happy's owner was extremely attractive, no matter how weird he was.

"How about this, I'll come over whenever I can, but it can't be everyday. I have a life you know," she grinned up at him, poking a finger at his chest. "And if you ever need to go somewhere for a long period of time and I'm home, I'll keep him company."

Natsu grinned and snatched her hand that was poking at him. "You should just move in, that would solve all our problems."

She knew he said it jokingly, and there was no way she would ever actually move in with a stranger, but her heart didn't understand that as it did a small jump in her chest, red creeping into her cheeks.

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you?" she responded with a smirk.

His grin slowly disappeared, his expression turning into something she didn't quite recognize as his thumb traced circles on her hand. "Yeah, maybe I would."

Her blush spread on her face becoming very apparent now, and there was no way he didn't see it. She didn't know what to say to him now; it all turned from playful, innocent semi-flirting to serious heart-racing stares.

She thought she was going to explode.

"I-I guess you'll just have to persuade me then." _Where did_ _that come from?_ Her eyes widened at her words, and she saw his do the same. He started to lean in closer to her, and _oh god, he was so close now._

But, when she thought he was about to do something crazy, like kiss her, he turned his head, staring at Happy who was still on her lap.

The little bugger was looking at them with an almost smug look.

"Happy really likes you, and would be really sad if you decided to stay away."

She knew he wasn't talking about Happy.

"Well if that's the case, I'll have to make sure to check up on him. He is pretty adorable."

And she wasn't talking about Happy either.

She smiled down at the cat; suddenly glad he was an annoying little shit.

After all, she probably wouldn't have met Natsu if he weren't.

It was all thanks to a cat.


End file.
